Collins Not Reporting

Nick Collins doesn’t want a new deal before reporting to the Green Bay Packers’ offseason strength and conditioning program. But the Pro Bowl safety would at least like the team to start talking to him about one.

With no negotiations on the horizon, Collins is staying home in Florida and not attending the team’s offseason workouts, which kicked off Monday, an NFL source said Thursday evening.

Collins, 25, was named an NFC starter at safety for the Pro Bowl last month after registering 99 tackles and seven interceptions last season, returning three of those INTs for touchdowns. He has played and started 63 of a possible 66 games during his four NFL seasons, with 11 career interceptions.

Collins, who entered the league as a second-round pick in 2005 and signed a five-year deal, has one year remaining on his rookie contract. His agent, Dave Butz, was not available for comment Thursday night…

Meanwhile, wide receiver Greg Jennings, who was drafted in 2006 but signed only a four-year contract, is also entering the final year of his deal and is the Packers’ top re-signing priority.

The source said the Packers have identified Jennings as the first player to negotiate with on a new deal among a number of key contributors set to become free agents following the 2009 season.

I like Collins and hope the Packers can resign him. But they’re wise to make Jennings the priority.

8 Responses to “Collins Not Reporting”

The signing of a big contract by hold-out Ryan Grant last year pretty much guaranteed something like this was going to happen. I do think re-signing Jennings takes priority here, but can’t the Packers talk to two people at once?

Trade him! He had a lucky year and is worth something now (a good d-lineman for example). I think the only way to break the curse of Grant’s contract is to rid the team of those who seek to pressure the Packers. To go back to the Lombardi story about Ringo:

1. Set up a meeting wiith his agent
2. Keep him waiting in the office
3. When you let him in, inform him he’ll be negotiating with Detriot.

Enough of this crap! Collins was drafted and can’t play the ERFA game Williams is trying. He has a contract so SHUT UP!

Why is the strength and conditioning program optional?? And what is with players that sign contracts feel that during the contract’s period that they all of a sudden feel like they need more money. Is this the players or their agents that are greedy? What is the point of a contract in the NFL anyways? The players don’t care.

collins has little leverage here. i would be shocked if they even offer a contract until midpoint in the season if he’s performing well in the 3-4.

they signed a free agent with experience in the system. he’s under contract. he’s dumb as a stump – might not be able to handle all the responsibility of the safety position in a 3-4. i took him years to get comfortable in the most vanilla system ever conceived. he may be very expendable after this year.

he could also be very good, but the packers have little reason to sign him to a long-term deal at this point. you couldn’t get a decent DLineman with a safety with one good year under his belt — not now. if some team has a safety go down in August, it might be worth the offer for a 295 lbs 6’5″ DE. but that’s a pipe dream – value doesn’t work out equal.

I am guessing that Collins sees this as his only opportunity to exert some pressure on the Packers. Next year he can be franchised if he has another pro-bowl type season. The following year will leave him as a restricted free agent if the salary cap goes away as he will not have 6 accrued seasons. He probably wants get a deal wrapped up ASAP before all that happens and while his agent perceives his stock to be high. His agent is smart to try and get that done but I seriously doubt TT plays ball and I seriously doubt Collins has the gonads to sit it out. Collins is set to make $3million+ this season. That is not under-paid for where Collins is right now. He is just going to have prove his worth this season before TT gives him an extension and they will realize that fairly quickly.

To change the subject slightly, I just read a commentary on Sports Illustrated online that blasts Bus Cook for the Jay Cutler situation in Denver. The commentary called Cook “money grubbing.” I believe in my heart that Cook was behind the Favre fiasco in Green Bay, too. This is one out-of-control agent.